School Days
by castor442
Summary: "If my baby brother doesn't walk through that door in ten minutes…" Stefan disappears from school and Damon is not a happy camper.


_**Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries or its Characters.**_

* * *

"…and then what happened?"

"Let me see if I can get the accent right" he cleared his throat. "_I so much as smell a hint of trouble and I'm keeping you as far apart as the North Pole and the Sahara"_

Damon laughed loudly. "That sounds like Alaric alright. He can be a bit of a drama queen sometimes. Between him and Elijah, I don't know who's worse" he said between guffaws. "_The world is not ready for the three of you in one place, and I will do my utmost best to keep it that way"_ he added in an English accent that left Enzo in stitches

"So, when are you going to see Klaus?"

"After you leave. It's too early to try and work around that tall order" Damon replied. "Elijah doesn't need any more reasons to get even more uptight"

"Eh, I guess so. Man, this game is good, but I've killed you like a dozen times already. I'm getting bored" Enzo almost whined

"Four times, and we just moved here. I haven't gotten Stefan new games yet" Damon replied curtly

"Why don't you design one? What do you spend all that time on the computer for anyway?"

"Uh, I don't know, scraping our identities and digital footprints so that in this age of technology, no one can find out we've been alive far longer than humanly possible?" Damon snarked

"You put a lot of thought into that, didn't you?"

Damon chuckled. "Yeah, I did"

Enzo laughed. "That is good and all, but this game is boring, and I want you to make one"

"I'll get right on that, your highness. Anything else?"

Before Enzo could come back with his own quip however, the phone rung, and Damon went to pick it up. The only semi cheery thing about the call was his 'hello'. It went downhill from there.

* * *

The doors opened with a harsh bang as two young men made their way into the prestigious school. As luck would have it, the news of the incident that brought them here had already spread throughout the school and throngs of students swarmed the hallways and gossiped, so the hallways were very crowded. That accounted for the stares thrown their way as they marched through the horde of admiring students, some for their very fashionable yet blasé appearance, and others - mostly girls - for how hot they were. Any other day and Damon would have enjoyed the ogling, but today wasn't any other day.

The secretary's head jerked up in annoyance at the impatient tone that startled her and made her coffee spill, though the look softened considerably when she saw the culprit. "Hello, how…" she attempted to be civil

"I received a call about my brother. I'm Damon Salvatore" came the very crisp interruption

"Oh, Mr. Salvatore, hi. You look…young" she ended lamely

"Yeah, yeah, whatever lady. We're here. What seems to be the bloody problem?"

"And you are?"

"Family" Enzo retorted

"Oh, well, the principal is in with the other parents. Let me see if…"

Both boys brushed past her and into the principal's office, startling her again at the rudeness. The office was quite spacious, not the average size for a high school principal, and it had a large table similar to those used for board meetings, though much smaller. Around this table sat three sets of parents who glared down their noses at Damon and Enzo as they came in.

Damon went straight to the point. "What happened with Stefan? And, where is he?"

"Mr. Salvatore, thank you for joining us…" the principal begun, only to be interrupted

"Mr. Salvatore? Please. He's too young to be that hooligan's guardian, so what's he doing here? Parents couldn't be bothered?" one of the women taunted. "I'd be ashamed to come too if I had a child like that"

"Mrs. Benson, please…" the principal attempted again

"She's not wrong. My boy needed seven stitches, and he has a concussion" another parent interrupted.

"Guys, please!" the principal finally got a word in. "A boy is missing. I think we need to prioritize right now"

"Prioritize? He broke my son's arm! He should be arrested. He deserves whatever he gets" Mr. Rivers, one of the fathers, almost yelled. "I'm pressing charges"

His wife scoffed. "This is what you get for taking in riff raffs. There is a reason for public school you know. He doesn't belong here" she added snottily

Damon slammed his hand down on the table, startling everyone except Enzo and making at least two people physically jump. "I see three snot nosed bratlings sitting outside with injuries, and I see what could only pass as their lowlife parents in here. There was an altercation, I know that, but you know who I don't see? My brother. So, I'm going to ask one more time. Where. Is. My. Brother?"

"There was…an incident, earlier. Some students pushed…"

"Allegedly" Mrs. Benson cut in harshly

"…allegedly pushed Stefan into the …"

"He should be in an institution, that boy. He freaked out over nothing! I'm surprised at how much damage a teenage boy can cause really, he almost killed them" Mr. Denver, another of the fathers, spoke, interrupting the hapless principal yet again

"I swear, any of you interrupt one more time and I'm going to rip out your spleen and feed it to you" Enzo threatened brutally. "Go on, Mr.…" he looked at the name. "…Rhodes"

The principal cleared his throat. "Some boys allegedly pushed Stefan into the pool earlier today as a prank of sorts. He didn't … take it very well. There was a fight, and as you can see from the appearance of the boys outside, it would seem Stefan was very determined to show them the error of their ways. After some teachers managed to pull them apart, your brother left the school. According to eyewitnesses, he was quite distressed and left in a sort of daze, wearing only gym pants and no shoes. We have security out searching for him, but Mr. Salvatore, it's snowing out there. I'm really worried about him"

Damon had paled considerably. "They pushed Stefan into the water? Unawares?" he whispered

"He was going to get in anyway, I don't know what the fuss was about. It was swimming practice, for Christ's sake" Mr. Benson added in grumbles

"Oh no" was all Damon managed before he sprinted towards the door, having enough sense and awareness left not to use his vampire speed. When Stefan's PTSD acts up, it usually involves a lot of headless corpses, and he picking up the broken pieces. These snobbish rich people had no idea what they had let loose. Before he got to the door however, Enzo blocked it. He growled. "Get out of my way"

"Hey" Enzo tried to appease. "We all know how Stefan gets when … these memories are brought to the surface" he whispered so low, only Damon could hear him. "I'll go out and find him before he … goes all ripper, alright? And if he has, I'll keep him away from prying eyes and call you immediately. But you stay here in case he comes back. Okay?"

The proposition made sense to Damon, and he nodded almost unperceptively. He watched as Enzo disappeared into the hallways, itching to follow him but knowing he was right.

"Mr. Salvatore, if your brother has some sort of issues that may make him a threat to other students, we need to know"

Damon glared at him darkly, before his eyes suddenly led him to the three boys still waiting outside while their parents yelled at him, and his blood boiled. He opened the door and cocked a hand to the boys in the generic 'come here' gesture, waiting until they were all in the office before, he locked the door and pulled down the blinds.

* * *

Stefan wrapped an arm around his half naked self as he traipsed along the street. It was not because he was cold, it was more for comfort than anything. Passersby gave the weird sight a confused, and in some cases, concerned glance. It was after all, the middle of winter, and here was a teenager without a shirt or shoes on, walking in the snow. Someone may have dialed 911 because the next thing Stefan knew, he was being bundled into the back of a patrol car, swaddled in blankets as the officers tried to make sense of the situation.

He didn't notice when they pulled up at the station, or how suddenly quiet it became as soon as he was led in. He wasn't aware as they plopped him in a chair and attempted to question him, nor did he notice when some woman pressed a hot cocoa into his cold hands. On some level, he knew people were talking as he could see their lips move, but a ringing in his ears shut out the world around him. All he could see was his own face staring back at him, and then it was wet and cold, and then suddenly he couldn't breathe, and then nothing, and then it begun all over again like some psychotic loop. He clutched the mug harder, only for it to break and spill its contents all over him, mixing with his blood.

Someone muttered a _shit,_ and then they were grabbing Stefan's hands and calling for a medic. By the time she arrived, Stefan was somewhat aware of his surrounding as his hand jerked out of the medic's. She yelled a _he's responsive_ to the room, and suddenly she was being replaced by an officer.

"Kid, are you okay? What were you doing out in the snow without any clothes or shoes on?"

"I" Stefan's voice felt foreign to his own ears. "I need to call my brother"

* * *

"Mr. Salvatore, what are you doing?" Principal Rhodes asked warily

"Why have you been bullying Stefan?" Damon asked scarily, cornering the boys. "When no answer was forthcoming, he growled. "I asked you a question. Why have you been tormenting my little brother?"

"Stefan is the most annoyingly accommodating person I've ever met so even though he could take you three without breaking a sweat, he wouldn't. He would continue to take your assholeness because he's stupid like that. But this time it's different. He comes home downcast, sometimes ready to bawl his eyes out. There's only one thing that gets to Stefan like that, and it's not physical brawling. You have been saying some very mean things to him, haven't you?" he asked fiercely, glaring at the three boys.

"Nothing that wasn't true. That he was trailer park trash who lived in a motel and only attended this elite school because of charity" Ryder started, chin jutting defiantly. He was the child of the last family

Damon closed his eyes and sighed. When they had arrived in town a little over a month ago, they'd been forced to stay in a motel while he finalized the purchase of their new home. It had taken only a few days, but apparently, they had been noticed by some of the snooty residents, who took that to mean they were poor, and hence Stefan did not belong in their school.

Another of the boys opened his mouth to say something, but Damon stopped him with a raised hand. "I'm sure you've said worse things, there's no need to rehash" he resisted the urge to choke the very life out of the boy, but shook his head instead. "As a matter of fact, I could care less what you say to him, but you ever do something as stupid as what you did today, or you even look at him wrong, and you will curse the day you were born. Do I make myself clear?" he asked faux calmly

"Hey, you stay away from my boy, or I'll sue the skin off you" Mr. Benson yelled, getting in Damon's face. "You are in enough trouble as it is"

Damon simply lifted him with one arm against the wall when he ventured close enough. Everyone gasped, and the boys were noticeably starting to lose their haughtiness.

"How did you…" Mrs. Rivers could not bring herself to finish the sentence

"I work out" Damon answered simply, giving one last squeeze before dropping the man. He turned his attention back to the now visibly terrified boys. "I said, **Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear**?"

"I'm calling the police. This is harassment" Mr. Quinn, Ryder's father, said as he fumbled with his phone. Damon grabbed it and flung it against a wall, smashing it to bits

The anger in Damon's voice was unmistakable. "If my baby brother doesn't walk through that door in ten minutes, you wouldn't need lawyers, Mr. Rivers. You'll need an undertaker"

"Is that a threat?"

"I'm sorry, I may have done that wrong. I thought I was very clear" Damon said, squaring off against the much taller man. The school telephone chose that opportune time to ring.

* * *

The police station doors opened in an almost exact manner as the school doors earlier as Damon bounded through. He had eyes for only one person, though, and rushed on Stefan as soon as he saw him. He pulled him into a grateful hug, while subtly smelling him for blood that was not his.

"Are you okay?" he whispered into Stefan's ears. "Did anything happen?"

"I didn't kill anybody if that's what you're asking" came the quiet reply. "I want to go home Damon. Can we leave now?"

"Yeah, sure. This place smells terrible. Remind me to give them a complete makeover in appreciation"

Stefan chuckled softly and Damon's heart lifted. "Well, if you're feeling so altruistic, that one was really nice to me" he said, pointing to the officer who brought him in

Damon turned to look at the person he pointed to. "Hmm. Blond hair, blue eyes, earnest look; reminds me of Matt". Stefan chuckled again. "Come on. Let me see if there's any paperwork to get through, then I'll take you home"

* * *

Once they had arrived home and Stefan had fallen into an exhausted stress-filled sleep, Damon picked up his jacket and quietly left the room. Enzo met him in the living room with a smirk on his face, having been called back from Stefan hunting as soon as the police had called.

Damon smirked back. "You up for some visitation?"

"This is probably what Alaric had in mind when he said there'd be trouble" Enzo said with a sly smile. "Why don't you stay with him, and I'll take care of it?"

"He's asleep Enzo, and the house is protected. He'll be fine" Damon replied as he zipped up the jacket, throwing Enzo another. "Besides, we don't have to kill anyone. We'll just play a game" he added with a conspiratorial wink

"Ooh, I love games" Enzo replied, deftly catching the jacket Damon had thrown and following him out the front door.

"I know you do. And when we are done you can help me drum into Stefan's head the difference between sainthood and playing human"


End file.
